Howell Schools taking measures against students who posted racist tweets

6:24 PM, March 18, 2014

Howell celebrates its first regional title since 1927, when it was in Class B, on Thursday. It's the first regional title for a Livingston County boys team since Fowlerville accomplished it in 1961. / Mark A. Dull/Livingston Daily

By Wayne Peal

Gannett Michigan

Howell Public Schools officials said disciplinary action is being taken against students who sent racist Twitter messages, but have declined comment on the specific nature of that discipline.

In a statement, district officials said “corrective” measures were being taken against students responsible for tweets surfacing after Thursday’s basketball playoff game between the all-white Howell team and a predominantly black team from Grand Blanc.

“Action is being taken,” said school spokesman Thomas Gould, who declined comment on how each student was being disciplined, citing student confidentiality standards.

The messages included references to white power, Adolf Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan.

“All hail white power#HitlerIsMyDad,” read one tweet.

Howell Public Schools called the messages “disrespectful, offensive and inappropriate,” and said they were contained in exchanges with students from Grand Blanc.

None of those involved were affiliated with the basketball team, school officials said.

At the same time, school officials denied published reports that Howell students were admonished by a referee for using racial slurs during the Thursday night game.

A representative of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which oversees the state tournament, said Monday his organization had not received a report regarding any verbal comments made at that game.

“It seems that what is swirling around happened off the court,” MHSAA spokesman John Johnson said.

While reports commonly are filed in the case of player or coach ejections, Johnson said referees are free to file reports on any questionable actions.

With regard to the tweets, Howell High School Principal Jason Schrock said representatives of both high schools were “discussing opportunities for our students to keep the relationship between our schools positive.”

Grand Blanc Community Schools Superintendent Norman Abdella was unavailable for comment Monday but said in a previous statement that he believed Howell officials would handle the situation fairly.

Howell officials said that Schrock spoke with each student, as well as parents, and that the students would face “corrective action” consistent with school policy.

Stories of the tweets were carried in newspapers and websites across the nation.

The reference to the Ku Klux Klan touched a sore spot for a region still dealing with the image of Klan-related gatherings a quarter-century ago on a ranch near Howell and the 2005 sale of Klan memorabilia at a now-closed local shop.

“Our history is what it is, but we have been working very hard to promote change,” said Nicole Matthews-Creech, president of the Livingston Diversity Council, a group of community, church and business leaders that promotes racial and cultural understanding.

“We are moving forward, but not everyone moves forward,” she said.

Howell and other communities need to be open in dealing with racial issues, Matthews-Creech added, but those outside the county should understand issues “aren’t being swept aside.”

Gould said he hoped the community would note that it was fellow students who reported the tweets to school administrators.

“They walked into the principal’s office, and when you are a high school student, it takes a certain amount of courage to do that,” he said.

The tweets cast a negative light on what had been an historic achievement — Howell’s first victory in a regional final since 1927.

“It’s a shame that had to happen to young men who worked so hard,” said Howell Area Chamber of Commerce President Pat Convery, also a Livingston Diversity Council member.

“Those tweets were wrong, but they aren’t who we are,” she said.

Howell will play Mt. Pleasant at 7 tonight in Davison for the right to advance to the state semifinals.